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THE FREE LANCE-STAR
You get two side orders with your grilled pork chop at the Battlefield Restaurant, and they aren't just for decoration.
A bite of Battlefield's homemade potato salad and you time-travel to the past--to picnics and reunions and church potlucks where the preparation of a side dish is a competitive event.
Battlefield Restaurant could give any church lady a run for her money in the potato salad category. Theirs starts with tender potatoes, boiled-that-morning fresh. Then comes a good mayonnaise dressing with finely diced hard-boiled egg, and barely visible minced onion and pickle.
And the cole slaw is freshly shredded, not too sweet, not too mayo-laden. The nice thin pork chop, pan-fried and juicy, is almost an after-thought with slaw like that.
I thought I had achieved at least honorary status as a Fredericksburger, having lived here 15 years. I had not. Because, until last week, I had never been to the Battlefield Restaurant.
Of course I'd driven by it thousands of times, rounding Dead Man's Curve in front of the National Cemetery and the National Park Service Visitor Center on Lafayette Boulevard. I'd noticed the neon sign on the side that promises "Air Cond." and serves as a reminder of the restaurant's origins in 1951. I'd often thought the little building looked interesting, and it always bustled.
But it's only inside that you realize what a genuine Fredericksburg experience this is. There's an utterly homey menu. A fresh cigarette-coffee-cheeseburger aroma. Friendly waitresses who seem to think everyone merits the title of "Sweetie."
And every bite or sip of anything I took there was just as it should be.
The pork chop and sides? You can't do better for $7.
The $2.40 cheeseburger? Just a humble but freshly grilled patty with yellow cheese, a slice of tomato, a slice of red onion, mustard and ketchup on a soft white bun.
The vegetable soup, for $1.70 a cup? Homemade and hot, with chunks of stew beef and red tomato, carrots, onion and celery.
A steak and cheese sub was enormous for $3.50, its fluffy sub roll stuffed with thin skillet steaks, lettuce and tomato, with grilled onions and mayo (or not) and passable crinkle-cut fries.
It's the kind of place where you can get a chili dog for $1.60 or a grilled cheese for $2, and where the most you can spend on any one item is $8.30 for a T-bone steak.
My two visits were at lunchtime.
Guys in dress slacks and work clothes sat elbow to elbow at the counter, eating open-faced roast beef sandwiches or fried bologna on white bread. A granddad (I guessed) marveled at the amount of food that disappeared into a teenage boy. A lady arrived dressed as if for church and dined neatly on cornbread ($1.20) and bean soup ($1.70; $3.20).
But I'm told Battlefield is also highly popular as a breakfast spot, open daily before dawn.
Breakfast offerings can be had all day. In honor of that, I sampled the first of three breakfast specials, a $4.25 combo of an egg (scrambled, but you can get it any style), two spicy sausage patties, a heap of home fries and one pancake so big it overlaps the plate. And hot, fresh coffee.
That pancake does not even need syrup. It's fluffy, sweet and light, and just a little crispy around the edges.
The No. 1 special, by the way, is the smallest of the breakfast platters. For double eggs and pancakes, get the No. 2 special for $5.35.
And if you have not eaten for days and might not again for a long time, go for the No. 3, which is three eggs, a double order of bacon or sausage, home fries or grits, a cup of chipped beef or sausage gravy, a biscuit and coffee. It costs $8.
Obviously, you don't have room left for dessert.
So a return trip is necessary to sample the pies and cakes our server told us are homemade.
We tried a slice of apple pie, hot, but without the proffered scoop of vanilla ice cream. Its sweet, cinnamon-spiked filling bubbled up through the light top crust. Underneath, the apple slices were tender and tart.
Boston cream pie is simply a layer of yellow cake, a layer of sweet custard, another layer of cake and chocolate icing thinly spread on top.
It doesn't take much money to eat your fill at the Battlefield Restaurant. And considering that you get a tidy slice of Fredericksburg culture with your meal, it's more than a bargain.